Hi 👋

Welcome to Week #65 of the Wrestling Snacks Newsletter.

Not much going on here—just feeling grateful for another day to deliver the newsletter.

Be sure to check out the DI Live Streaming Guide (1/16–1/19/2025) and catch some of the exciting college action happening this weekend!

Let’s GO 💪

News Bites

• 2025 NWCA National Duals: Final Results

• Illinois’ Byrd New No. 1 at 133 in WIN’s Jan. 13 Rankings

• #19 Bouzakis Flips Commitment to Pittsburgh

• Two-Sport Star Stewart Commits to Illinois

• Two-time Indiana State Champ Dickman to Virginia Tech

• NCAA Adds Women's Wrestling as 91st Championship

• Jason Moorman Accepts Tarleton State Head Women's Role

• Anthony Ferrari Will Compete For Long Island University This Season

• Olympic Medalist Spencer Lee vs World Champ Masanosuke Ono Set For Feb 26

• Aaron Brooks vs Zahid Valencia rematch as the Co-Main Event On February 26

• David Carr vs Olympic Silver medalist Daichi Takatani match set for Feb. 26 on FloWrestling Night in America

• Desanto vs Gross Added To FloWrestling Night In America On February 26

• RUDIS PARTNERS WITH UNITED WORLD WRESTLING

• Olympian Parris, World medalists Fix, Valencia among U.S. men’s freestyle entries at Dan Kolov – Nikola Petrov International

Snacks

This week's Snacks come from Nick Becker: Wrestled for UW-Parkside, where he was a 3X NCAA DII National Champion, the 2018 Most Outstanding Wrestler of the National Tournament, a 2X NCAA DII Wrestler of the Year, and a 3X Regional Wrestler of the Year. He finished his career with a perfect 89-0 record. Currently, he serves as the Head Coach at UW-Parkside and was named the NWCA Division II Coach of the Year and the NSIC Coach of the Year during the 2022-23 season.

Below are some excerpts from our conversation, along with key takeaways and tips that can be applied to improve yourself as a Coach, Athlete, or wrestling Parent.

Origin Story Tip: Stick with it, even when it’s hard and you’re not seeing the results you want. Struggles early on are extremely common in this sport, but keep going. Trust the process, be patient, stay consistent, and give yourself time to grow.

"I started from a young age, maybe 4 or 5 years old, in youth tournaments and competitions. I had three older brothers, with my oldest brother being ten years older than me, so wrestling was naturally part of our family. My dad got us all started at a really young age. It’s just in the nature of our family to wrestle, and all four of us wrestled in youth, middle school, high school, and college.

I guess it was a bit destined for me to wrestle. Growing up, I played all sports until about eighth grade. I didn’t have the greatest success early on, from being a youth wrestler to middle school. I started wrestling young, but I never won a youth state title. I didn’t win a high school state title in freestyle, Greco, or folkstyle until my senior year in folkstyle.

It was always one of my goals to be a state champion, like my brothers. I developed a little later and had to trust the process. In anyone’s career, especially in wrestling, there are times you hate the sport, want to quit, and feel like giving up. I definitely had those moments, especially early in my high school career.

During my freshman and sophomore years, I wasn’t getting the results I wanted. I had to persevere and keep at it. In college, it got even more physical and demanding, and there were moments I wondered, “Am I cut out for this?” But I stuck with it, trusted my coaches, and stayed committed to being a competitor.

It was great growing up with older brothers. I think they saw me as the runt since my closest brother is seven years older, then nine, and then ten years older. By the time I was in sixth grade, they were already wrestling in college. They could definitely whip me pretty good if they wanted to, especially on the mat.

Still, it was a good relationship. Anytime you live in a household with several siblings, there are arguments, fights, and even wrestling in the living room. That definitely happened. They were a big part of my development as a wrestler, coaching me, providing technique, and giving me advice along the way."

Parent Tip: Set an example of hard work and persistence in your own life, and your child will follow. Support their goals without trying to live through them. Show them that success comes from effort and consistency, and remind them you’re proud of their dedication, no matter the outcome.

"It goes back to my parents and their lifestyle. My dad wrestled in high school, and my mom was very supportive, but my dad especially took a back seat as I got older. He would drop me off at practice and wouldn’t say much besides asking how practice went. It wasn’t about him being a coach but more about being a supportive parent. My parents taught me and my siblings about lifestyle—waking up early, working hard, and taking care of responsibilities.

My dad worked in the trades and grew up on a farm, so Saturdays and Sundays were for chores. Whether it was cutting wood, chopping trees, landscaping, or painting, there was always something to do. They emphasized hard work, persistence, and keeping a positive mindset, even when things didn’t go your way. No matter how you felt—sick, tired, or hurt—you gave it your all because it would pay off in the end.

In the big picture, my parents were very involved in my wrestling career. They were always supportive, going to tournaments and helping me financially to pursue what I wanted as an athlete. But they also respected that it was my career, not theirs. They didn’t try to live through me. Instead, they said, “If this is what you want to do, we’ll help you get there.”

I’ve seen situations where parents want it more than the kids, but that wasn’t the case for me. My parents fully supported me, win or lose, and for that, I’m grateful."

Coaching Tip: Every athlete responds differently, so there’s no one-size-fits-all approach. Learn from the coaches and mentors who shaped you—take what worked, leave what didn’t. Focus on building strong fundamentals and be intentional with your training methods, even if the value isn’t immediately clear to your athletes.

"I grew up in a small town in Hartford, Wisconsin, where we had youth and middle school teams. The town had a strong wrestling tradition, with guys going Division I and II, becoming All-Americans and national champions well before I got there.

Growing up in a wrestling town meant having good coaches who knew how to train youth and middle school athletes. When I got to high school, our head coach, who wrestled for the Badgers, brought an intense style to our training. We had a solid team, and he pushed us with a lot of drilling and fundamental work. Looking back, developing strong fundamentals at a young age was hugely beneficial for my career. I was also lucky that my oldest brother, Brad, was one of our assistant coaches during my high school years.

In Wisconsin, once the high school season ends, you can’t have contact with your high school coaches for practice. I went to clubs like Ringers Wrestling Club, which is well-known here, and later to Askren’s Academy, which opened when I was a junior. Ben Askren coached me for a couple of years in high school and continued as a mentor during college and my short time competing on the senior level.

When I got to college, I wrestled at Central Michigan under Coach Tom Borelli. He had a military background and brought a commanding style to practices, which I liked. Later, when I transferred to Parkside, the coaches were more laid-back and gave the wrestlers more freedom. That approach was similar to how the Askrens coached, with a focus on adaptability and individuality.

Throughout my career, I had great coaches, each with their own unique styles. There’s more than one way to approach wrestling, and I’ve been able to take bits and pieces from what I liked or didn’t like as an athlete. There were things I hated doing in practice, but now as a coach, I understand why they made us do them. It’s been cool to reflect on those experiences and incorporate what I’ve learned into my coaching. I’m grateful and fortunate to have had so many good mentors and coaches in my life."

Athlete Tip: Be a mat rat and treat wrestling as a craft to continually work on—not just a sport to compete in. Spend purposeful time on the mat, identify your strengths and weaknesses, and always look for areas to improve. Embrace the mindset of being a lifelong student of the sport.

"That's a good question. I’d probably say just being a mat rat. I know that's pretty broad, but I truly believe in it. To sum it up, one tip for an athlete: the more time you can spend on wrestling as a craft or an art form, the better you're going to be. But it has to be with purpose, understanding where you're strong and where you're lacking in wrestling.

I really believe in being a student of the sport. Getting in the room and being a mat rat is probably the best tip I can give. I’ve listened to a lot of senior-level guys, the best in the world. For example, when David Taylor steps off the mat after winning an Olympic title, he’ll say, “I could have done this better. I need to work here more.”

To me, wrestling is a sport you’re never going to master. There’s always something to improve on, some weakness to work on. The best way to address those tweaks or weaknesses is by getting in the room and rolling around with other guys."

Negative Impact Tip: Pushing kids too hard at a young age, especially when it’s driven by parents more than the kids themselves, can lead to burnout. Yelling or pressuring them after losses takes the fun out of the sport and can drive them away. Let them find their own motivation and enjoy the process, rather than turning it into a source of stress.

"I think it goes back to the beginning of our conversation a little bit. I didn’t really touch on it much, but the burnout piece is important. We host a youth tournament, and this year we had 600 kids. That’s a good time for me to observe what’s really going on in the sport at a grassroots level. Sometimes you see kids walking off the mat, and they’re 6, 7, or 8 years old, with dads screaming at them. Parents get red in the face, saying things like, “You should have done this; we worked on that last week.”

I think that kind of behavior sucks the fun out of the sport. I was fortunate not to have a dad or mom yelling in my ear after I lost a match. It was more like, “We’ll just keep working.” For me, that’s the best approach. I feel like one of the issues is parents wanting it more than the kids at a young age. Some parents think, “We’re going to wrestle, wrestle, wrestle,” when the kids are 8 years old, and I think that leads to burnout.

On the other hand, you see cases where that intensity works, like with someone like Cary Kolat. We all know his story, and it obviously worked out well for him. But at the grassroots level, kids need to want to do it for themselves. They need to find their “why.” I haven’t looked at the statistics, but I do think a lot of kids start wrestling at a young age and then quit the sport. That’s a problem because wrestling is a great sport that develops many important characteristics kids can carry into their lives.

If we want to continue growing the sport, we’ve got to make it fun at a young age. I don’t believe in competing all across the country from ages 6 to 8. I think once you hit middle school, you can start taking it more seriously, but it still has to be self-driven by the athlete."

Wrestling Growth Tip: Create consistent opportunities for senior-level wrestlers to compete and be showcased. Highlighting these athletes not only helps grow their personal following but also sustains fan engagement beyond college.

"I think that’s a really tough question. Here in the States, we’re predominantly focused on folkstyle for most of the season. I’d like to see more unity across college wrestling. It’s very confusing for fans who don’t know the sport well. In college, men wrestle folkstyle, while women wrestle freestyle. Then, after the men’s college season ends, they switch to freestyle or Greco.

I love both freestyle and folkstyle, but maybe having set seasons could help. In freestyle and Greco, there’s no team component, which makes it harder for fans to follow. College wrestling is unique because people follow the teams. That’s why the Division I National Tournament draws more viewers than the Olympics or World Championships—it’s easier to follow throughout the year. In freestyle and Greco, our guys might wrestle three to five times a year, which is tough for the average fan to keep up with unless they’re deeply passionate about the sport.

If we could find a way to better highlight our senior-level wrestlers, that would help. Once many of these athletes graduate from college, the NCAA Tournament is often seen as their pinnacle from a fan perspective. Afterward, the attention shifts to freestyle and Greco, but the fan following dips significantly. For example, I was at the World Championships in 2015 when Kyle Snyder won, and there were maybe 2,500 people in attendance.

I don’t know the perfect solution, but creating consistent opportunities for senior-level athletes could be a step in the right direction. Super matches or super duels are great, but we need something more regular. Even guys who are fifth, sixth, or seventh on the ladder are some of the best in the country, yet many of them struggle to get by, often paying for their own health insurance. To grow wrestling, we need to elevate our superstars. Unless you’re someone like David Taylor or Jordan Burroughs with a huge following, it’s hard to make a living off the sport.

Sure, you can win an Olympic gold medal and earn $250,000, but you’re training for four years for that, and there are only six Olympic spots. It’s a tough reality for many of our top wrestlers."

Growth Bite

This week's Growth Bite comes from a book I’m currently reading by Rick Rubin, titled The Creative Act: A Way of Being. I wanted to share two excerpts from the book that really stood out to me:

Community Treat

This week's Community Treat comes from a clip featuring Carter Starocci and Bo Nickal, talking about how Coach Cael knows exactly what to say at the right time to help his athletes flip the switch.